Would You Evacuate If Told To?

Hi Everyone,

This year has been a bad one for tornadoes, and it looks like it's going to be the same for hurricanes. Tornadoes hit around my area so much this summer that I cringed every time we had a tornado warning. There's no way I wouldn't take a threat like that seriously.

In New York City, a reporter was speaking to a person who had decided not to evacuate.  The reason he gave was that Bloomberg had messed on winter storm and was trying to make up for it by exaggerating the seriousness of Hurricane Irene. 

My question to all of you is would you go to a safe place if told to?

That's all for this Sunday.  Have a great week.

Best to all of you.

Sandy
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com

Do You Come Back to Read Responses to Your Comments?

Hi Everyone,

The reason, I'm asking this question is because I'm curious to know if it's even necessary to leave a response to those who leave a comment. 

Another question, I have for you is do you read the comments after reading the blog?  I personally find many of the comments more interesting than my blog. 

Thank you for reading.  I'll look forward to reading your comments on this topic. 

Sandy
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com

Should Social Security be considered an Entitlement?

Hi Everyone,

I don’t know about you, but for months I’ve been listening to the politicians talking about Social Security being an entitlement program. Its made me furious. I started paying into Social Security at sixteen and have paid into it ever since.  Of course, I’m entitled to Social Security benefits, but the politicians make the word entitlement sound like a dirty word.  They try to make everyone believe the people who draw entitlements are free loaders and not responsible hard working folks.

It’s no wonder seniors are upset by their elected officials.  Below is a definition of entitlement.

Definition of entitlement by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary:  1a: the state or condition of being entitled: Right  b: a right to benefits specified by law or contract  2: a government program providing benefits to members of a specified group; also : funds supporting or distributed by such a program.

Okay, so Social Security is an entitlement, so why is the word being smeared and used in such condescension? Below is a little history about how Social Security was started.

The Social Security Act was signed by FDR on 8/14/35. Taxes were collected for the first time in January 1937 and the first one-time, lump-sum payments were made that same month. Regular ongoing monthly benefits started in January 1940.

Medicare was passed into law on July 30, 1965 but beneficiaries were first able to sign-up for the program on July 1, 1966.

Under the 1935 law, what we now think of as Social Security only paid retirement benefits to the primary worker. A 1939 change in the law added survivors’ benefits and benefits for the retiree's spouse and children. In 1956 disability benefits were added.

Keep in mind, however, that the Social Security Act itself was much broader than just the program which today we commonly describe as "Social Security." The original 1935 law contained the first national unemployment compensation program, aid to the states for various health and welfare programs, and the Aid to Dependent Children program. (Full text of the 1935 law.)

Social security earns interest.  By law, the assets of the Social Security program must be invested in securities guaranteed as to both principal and interest. The Trust Funds hold a mix of short-term and long-term government bonds. The Trust Funds can hold both regular Treasury securities and "special obligation" securities issued only to federal trust funds. In practice, most of the securities in the Social Security Trust Funds are of the "special obligation" type. (See additional explanation from SSA's Office of the Actuary.)

The Trust Funds earn interest which is set at the average market yield on long-term Treasury securities. Interest earnings on the invested assets of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds were $55.5 billion in calendar year 1999. This represented an effective annual interest rate of 6.9 percent.

The Trust Funds have earned interest in every year since the program began. More detailed information on the Trust Fund investments can be found in the Annual Report of the Social Security Trustees and on the Actuary's web pages concerning the Investment Transactions and Investment Holdings of the Trust Funds.

Much more information can be found at: http://www.ssa.gov/history/hfaq.html

Yes, Social Security is an entitlement program.  It covers a huge amount of programs under its umbrella.  Should there be some cuts?  I’m not going to answer that question because I don’t know.  No one can afford cuts, but something has to be done.  I do believe our government should stop using Social Security for every program they can come up with.  In my opinion, social security and Medicare should not include welfare and some other entitlements under its umbrella. 

I’m not against helping people, but I just think welfare should be under some other program.  What do you think about our social security?  Frankly, I don’t think social security is the problem.

Have a great week, and I’ll see you all next week. 

Sandy

http://www.skaymarshall.com